Air France-KLM said in a statement that its board approved the cessation of takeover talks with Alitalia and that it now is up to the ailing Italian carrier's unions to spell out their vision of AZ's future. Alitalia is scheduled to hold a board meeting today and meet with its unions Wednesday. Trading of its shares was suspended last week.
Bombardier reported consolidated net income of $317 million for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, an 18.3% increase over the $268 million earned in the prior year, on a 17.4% growth in revenue to $14.9 billion. Rising aircraft sales and orders boosted revenue at Bombardier Aerospace 17% to $9.7 billion as operating profit soared 74.8% to $563 million from $322 million the previous year. The order backlog increased to a record $22.7 billion, up from $13.2 billion in FY06. Orders for regional aircraft surged to 238 from 87.
Worldwide Flight Services acquired a 60% shareholding in British Airways Regional Cargo late last month from three of the latter's founders, with the remaining 40% continuing to be held by British Airways World Cargo. Terms of the acquisition were undisclosed. BARC operates more 260,000 sq. ft. of handling facilities at 11 airports in the UK and Ireland. Employing 246 staff, it provides cargo handling for BAWC and other major carriers, including American Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Air India and GB Airways.
Blue Wing Airlines An-28 crashed Friday after aborting a landing at an airstrip near Benzdorp in northern Suriname. All 17 passengers and two crew were killed, according to press reports and Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network. Flight departed from Paramaribo, approximately 160 mi. away. The aircraft first flew in 1990 and reportedly crashed into a hillside while circling back to land. Blue Wing did not confirm the accident on its website. As of last fall it was flying five An-28s, three Cessna 206s, one Caravan 208 and one Twin Otter.
Pratt & Whitney Canada received type certification from Transport Canada and EASA for the PW127M, the latest derivative of the PW127F and PW127E engines that power the ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-500. P&WC said the PW127M offers 5% more power than earlier versions. It will be offered on existing variants of the aircraft going forward and also will be the standard engine on the 42-600 and 72-600.
Continental Airlines became the fifth major US carrier to raise its fees for a second checked bag ( ATWOnline, March 31), announcing that economy class passengers who are not premium members of CO's loyalty program will pay $25 for the second piece effective May 5. Policy applies to flights in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.
Czech government last week announced a tender for an adviser to facilitate the privatization of CSA Czech Airlines. The tender will begin April 15, and once a consultant is chosen the government intends "to finish the privatization within months," Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said, according to Reuters.
US Dept. of Homeland Security avoided potential confusion at airports last week by granting an extension to Maine on compliance with the first phase of a federal law mandating new security features on driver's licenses. Extension followed assurances from Gov. John Baldacci (D) to "use the resources at my disposal" to amend state policies in accordance with DHS demands. It was unclear, however, whether the state legislature would back him.
SITA announced completion of 700 workstations at Beijing Capital's Terminal 3 to support Olympic Games traffic this summer including check-in, boarding and transfers. A $3 billion addition, the terminal is expected to boost annual capacity by 30 million passengers ( ATWOnline, March 3). SITA projects that 50 of its self-service check-in kiosks will be ready to go live for the Olympics.
Sabena Technics signed a three-year aircraft maintenance services agreement with Brussels Airlines covering its 10 737s and four A330s. Agreement includes line and light maintenance support, outstation services for long-haul operations and component support services. By year end Brussels aims to conduct its own line maintenance on its 737s. It already does so on its BAe 146s and A320 family aircraft.
TACA expects 2008 revenue to increase 15% year-over-year to $1.1 billion as passenger traffic rises 10%-15%, President Roberto Kriete told the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit last week, according to the news service. "We are growing because we do not depend on the North American market," he said.
Compass Airlines, a wholly owned Northwest Airlines subsidiary, said it served nearly 500,000 passengers in its first year of operation flying 17 E-170s. It also announced that it was approved for daily Detroit-Monterrey service beginning May 2. Compass operates 74 daily flights to 26 cities as Northwest Airlink and expects to fly 36 aircraft and transport more than 2 million passengers by year end.
Global Logistics Systems said Cathay Pacific Airways adopted its Ezycustoms technology as its customs gateway to conform to AAMS requirements of US CBP. Features include compliance verification, waybill records management and exception alerts.
US FAA came under intense scrutiny last week when "whistleblower" agency inspectors, Dept. of Transportation Inspector General Calvin Scovel and a House of Representatives committee detailed "cozy" relationships between inspectors and airlines, pervasive "dysfunction" and "regulatory abuse" at a regional office and "a disconnect" between its Washington headquarters and day-to-day field operations.
United Airlines flew 10.04 billion system RPMs in March, down 2.7% from the year-ago month. Capacity was level at 12.14 billion ASMs, dropping load factor 2.3 points to 82.7%. US Airways Group said consolidated March passenger RASM climbed 5%-7% year-over-year but President Scott Kirby said high fuel prices will lead the company to reduce mainline capacity 3%-4% in the second half of 2008. The group flew 5.58 billion consolidated RPMs last month, down 0.7% from the year-ago month, against a 2.9% fall in capacity to 6.65 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 1.9 points to 83.9%.
ATA Airlines, an independent carrier based in Indianapolis, shut down operations yesterday after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday.
Iberia signed an agreement with Slovenia's Aurora Airlines to provide component MRO and inspection services on MD-80 aircraft at its Madrid shop. Contract expires in December 2011
Amadeus unveiled the Amadeus Airline Retailing Platform, designed to allow carriers to merchandise their products through GDSs much the same as they do on their own websites. Developed in conjunction with Iberia, Qantas and other airlines, the new platform will enable carriers to showcase features and brand attributes such as flat beds or satellite television via mouse-over popups on the availability screen. It also will present a list of upsell opportunities, such as desirable seats, lounge access or other optional services, at the time of pricing.
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly conceded that there "was clearly a mistake with our regulatory compliance" when the carrier operated 46 737 Classics for nine days in March 2007 after it had disclosed to US FAA that the aircraft were in noncompliance with an agency airworthiness directive but insisted that "safety of flight" was not compromised.
Air Canada unveiled an a-la-carte service product via its website intended to help customers manage travel disruptions such as weather, airport and ATC delays not typically the responsibility of the airline.
United Airlines grounded all 52 of its 777s after disclosing to US FAA that a review of its maintenance records revealed that required checks on cargo fire suppression systems were "not performed." UA cancelled an estimated 38 flights yesterday as it conducted the inspections. It said one of five bottles in the 777's cargo fire suppression systems had been overlooked during routine maintenance checks.
OnAir and Air France launched a trial of inflight voice calls featuring mobile communications including voice, SMS and e-mail. System employs Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband satellite connectivity for voice and data transmission.
Thompson Solutions was contracted by Delta Air Lines to develop its Cozy Suite economy class seat featuring contoured shoulder rests and extra knee space for 767ER and 777 aircraft. Installation is slated for 2010 following regulatory agency approval.
